Mikansei no Melody
by Eowyn
Summary: Akira finds himself all alone in an alien town far away from Tokyo... Short vignette, so go read it :)


This is as short little vignette inspired by the song "Mikansei no MELODY" by Yaida Hitomi. Thanks to my beta-reader Lady Seishou for getting rid of most mistakes :) Please read and review!  
  
Melody of Incompletion  
  
Leaving the hotel, he felt as if he had hit a wall of fresh cold air. He shivered and drew his coat closer, but it did not help much. It was dark outside already although it was barely past five in the evening. The streets were mostly empty in this part of the town.  
  
He walked toward the train station but then turned right passing under the railway and headed toward the center of the city. The walkways were covered with snow and ice and he had trouble to walk. His usual steady pace turned into something insecure and timid. A couple passed him. The woman was wearing high heels but that did not hinder her from walking over the ice plates without hesitation.  
  
Gathering his courage Touya Akira took a resolute step forward… and promptly slipped and fell. Cursing silently he got up again and tried to get the snow off of his black coat. Soon enough he realized that this was tilting against windmills since it started to snow heavily. Considering for a moment to return to his stuffy hot room and his drunken roommate, he decided against it. He continued his slow walk toward the city center, keeping his eyes on the ground to find ice-free places on the walkway.  
When he reached Oodori-Park, he already felt like one of the ice figures that lined the sides of the path he had chosen. Pastel-colored lights colored the white snow. Looking up he noticed that he was no longer alone. Couples were walking beside in front and behind. A snow flake found its way into his eye. Lowering his look he concentrated on the path before him. The snow was softer here and deeper. The ice was gone but instead he could feel the cold wetness soaking through to his feet.  
  
Why was he here? Out in the cold in an alien city? He should be up in his hotel room studying the kifu of his next opponent. It's not as if he cared about sightseeing and he definitely did not care to look at figures of ice, no matter how famous Sapporo's snow festival was. So what was he doing here?  
  
He had stopped while thinking, but soon enough he started his walk again toward no goal at all. It was too cold to just stand there. He felt uneasy, as if he had forgotten something important and was trying to find it now. He tried to think of what it could be, but nothing came to his mind.  
  
The television tower was looming above him now. He turned right onto a busy street and followed it. Away from the hotel. He passed a little paper shop with pretty paper dolls playing with other paper dolls in the display, but he only glanced at them for a moment. The traffic was heavier here and somehow the snow seemed heavier too. Looking up, he could barely see the other side of the street. Only a blinking sign was clearly visible. Sapporo Ramen.  
  
Shindou had told him about it. Instead of using normal soup stock they used miso soup to make those special ramen. He didn't care about ramen that much but the memory of his friend saying:"You gotta try some if you're there. And let me know how they are, o.k.?" led him to cross the street.   
  
A car came out of the snowstorm and started to brake when the driver saw him. Even though it was driving at a slow pace it seemed to take forever to slow down. When it finally came to a halt he had already crossed the street, leaving the driver to believe that he had only imagined that dark figure.  
  
Akira stood in front of the sign for a moment and then entered the shop. He was suddenly surrounded by warm air and noticed the snow that had piled on his shoulders and his hair. He took his coat off and stepped outside once more to brush most of the snow off. He went back inside, his hair wet and in disarray. This time he allowed a waiter to lead him to an empty table.  
  
While waiting for the ramen he had ordered, he looked around. The restaurant looked crowded, most tables seated couples or larger groups of talking, laughing people. With a strange feeling in his chest, he noticed that he was the only one without company. A steaming bowl of noodles interrupted his train of thought. Breaking the wooden chopsticks in two, he quietly whispered "Itadakimasu" to no one.  
When he stepped out on the street again the snow had stopped falling. Feeling warmed up and sleepy from his meal, he decided that it was time to return to his hotel. He still had those kifu to look through. There was less traffic and the streets were even emptier after he passed the park with the glowing ice sculptures again.  
  
He was passing by the front of the underway leading to the other side of the railway tracks and to his hotel when he noticed the little path. It was completely covered in snow with a single street lamp throwing light upon a snow-covered bench. No footsteps ruined the white blanket of snow. Hesitating for a moment he looked toward the street that led to his warm room. Instead, he stepped into the fresh snow and sat down on the bench.  
  
Somehow he felt warm under the golden light of the old fashioned street lamp. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warm red color behind his closed eye-lids. The cold fresh air filled his lungs. Suddenly he felt alive again. As if he stepped out of a dark closed cabinet into the whole wide world. The air in Tokyo never felt so fresh. So alive. He relished the cold that surrounded him and suddenly he laughed.  
  
Finally, he understood. The reason for his strange behavior. The reason for his sudden desire to get out of his room. The reason for his uneasiness the whole day.  
  
It was so simple.  
  
He took his cell phone out of its pocket inside his coat. Thumbing through the address book he found the one he was looking for when suddenly the screen went dark. The phone started to vibrate in his hand with an incoming call. Then the screen simply said: Shindou Hikaru.  
  
Smiling inwardly Akira put the phone to his ear and pressed the talk button.  
  
"Hai, Touya Akira desu."  
  
The End 


End file.
